Jobs, jobs and jobs ... Going, going gone

Corrected for honesty.

 

LMAO @ the opinions that the AUD is over-valued - We're just not sinking as fast as the other currencies.

The sad thing is there are others out there saying a lower AUD will improve exports, which in essence means we are going to speed up our own money presses in order to lower the exchange rate, in essence trying to forever play catch ups with the sinking stones USD and Euro (until 2014 at least).

Its madness, we are simply going to follow the other currencies down the plug hole, if the government actively tries to reduce the exchange rate.

Or am I looking at this all wrong ... ??

 

A friend I grew up with did medicine and eventually qualified as a psychiatrist. One of the things I remember him saying was people need three things to have a happy full life. They need someone to love, they need to love someone and they need something to do. As I have got older the something to do has become central to my self worth. This is especially true of men. Women define themselves more through their nuturing of their family and friends. Men tend to define themselves by what they do.

That is why often men who give up work prematurely lose their identity and often ill health follows. I have a number of friends and business contacts who are in their 70-80's and they are still loving what they do and have no intention to retire.

I went down to a 4 day week when I was 52 and did that for 6 years and finally realised how much I really missed working full time. The wife and the kids tell me I am a much happier person since I went back to work full time.

As for my children they both chose careers that had nothing to do with my business, we encouraged them to do something they enjoy rather than how much they can earn. As for them being sheep that will partially depend on the life partner they choose. The hard part of being a parent is we have done our best to instill our values and now we often do have to bite our tongues.

Our focus has now shifted to us we both love what we do and what surprises us both as how many people tell us we shouldn't be working as hard as we do. What it has confirmed to us is that most don't like what they do. The other aspect of living in Australia is the tall poppy syndrome it is alive and well and that has sadly meant some of our "friends" are no longer friends.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

A mate of mine worked for Kell and Rigby. He's out looking for a job now. A week before the company went into administration his manager had told him he would be up for a pay rise soon. It looks like the higher ups there tried to cover up how bad things were getting and possibly buried their heads in the sand until the last minute.

 

Someone to love and they need to love someone is really the same thing,

I heard it was Someone to love, something to do and something to look forward too !

 

Think it was probably ''someone to love them''. People also seem to underestimate the need for women to have purpose outside the nurturing aspect of life and for men to experience what it is like to be the nurturer.

 

Well, here goes another 1000 jobs!

ANZ preparing to cut 1000 jobs - http://www.theage.com.au/business/anz-preparing-to-cut-1000-jobs-20120213-1t0uc.html

 

The financial sector is brutal. This is merely the opening salvo of what's to come.

But it's moments like these where you do wish you were like NR above - financially independent and not worried about tomorrow.

Once you've made enough to retire today if you so chose to, my guess is you'd really enjoy your job too. No pressure.

 

+100%

Re financially independent.

I have younger relatives that take over the established and successful family business from their parents (who have done all the hard yards) and they are fortunate. They have no worries in the world, often have lots of children because finances are not a concern. Neither is getting sacked, having a horrible boss or workmates or having to go though countless interviews if they lose their job.

 

Some are saying the banks could do with some trimming......But the mainstream message coming across is that times ar'nt so good..... And this will surely cause some retraction in retail and cause even more job losses..

 

This is becoming an avalanche of job losses! Is this unprecedented in Australia?

 

Fantastic. May the parasite never be in the position to expand.
May the laid-off workers find a far more useful job.

 

If you were around in the early to mid 1990's, you wouldn't need to ask that question.

I recall very vividly memories of 150+ applying for a simple labouring position during that period.

That's what I harp on about here, Australia's 'selective' memory concerning downturns and this notion of perpetual growth carrying the country to endless prosperity.

Reality is a bitch though and will be a shock to many.

I also recall people losing homes on 100k mortgages during the same period as well.

What we have set up today is financial armageddon... you're just not allowed to mention it, lest you spoil the party.

 

Just read in 'The Courier Mail' that Mr Clive Palmer and one of his Indian Billionaires are lobbying to be allowed to bring fly in workers from overseas as there is going to be a 40k shortfall of workers in CQ..Plans are for them to open a very large coal mine, 500k of railway and also to buy farming and grazing land.

Now thats what you call a real Australian Patriot and you all know which party Clive supports..Joe will never be dead while Clives around.

I thought at one stage there, that he was a good bloke giving gifts away to his workers..I suppose he will save heaps as he wont have to give BMW's away, just the Indian car, what's the name? Tala?

Anna and Campbell won't mind as long as Qld grows into a giant junk yard of old mines and mining relics.

Regards Errol 43

 

I remember applying for a job in 1981 to work on power lines, effectively labouring. 14 positions, circa 1400 applicants and we all had to do an IQ test at Melbourne University together. Then came the interviews on front of a panel of 6-7 people, including the obligatory shrink - I passed and was offered the job, which I subsequently turned down.

 

So you can imagine the sort of shit this country is going to be in shortly staring down a similar situation when 1/3 Aussies are currently paying off the national average mortgage of $350k or whatever it is.

Australians have no idea what they're soon going to be in for.

Between the big wigs undermining the local job markets with cheap imported labour, massive layoffs adding more pressure and rates from the banks going up no matter what the RBA and government pleads, we're going to see some very unhappy times looking ahead.

Those who are already out of the system and don't need a day to day - with no debt - are laughing.

The rest... well, they're screwed really. It's just going to be a question of degree I think.


But far out, I've been warning all who would listen this sort of thing for over a decade and just continually slapped in the face for even daring to breath 'recession' in the presence of debtors.

So it's little wonder now why I have the attitude that I do.

We reap what we sow ladies and gentlemen and I won't listen to crying and gnashing of teeth over the issue.

We are (arguably) getting what we deserve as a matter of course, but more to the point, we are getting exactly what we collectively demanded.

We DEMANDED high house prices. We got it.

We DEMANDED access to massive debt. We got it.

So WHY all the complaining?

Bah... how can you even argue these points anymore? I'm done with pointing it out.

What will be is what will be and whilst I might be technically 'homeless' in relying on rented shelter for me and my family, the bank doesn't own me either.

So I DON'T live in fear of what's to come and I assure you, it's coming quicker than people think and will be devastating to many.

So be it.

 

In the eighties and nineties it felt like a factory was closing down every week. Got a ways to go to get to that stage though it may be more stealthy as I can't see a lot of finance types picketing outside the banks HQs.

 

Like your post Auspm, however it is important to note the upside to your one point about "imported labour".

The consumer is not complaining about effectively cheaper goods at the expense of Aussie jobs. Potentially every dollar saved through cheaper goods is a dollar that "could" be spent in the Aussie economy. Very hard to quantify such things though. Even the best number crunchers would only be stabbing in the dark on what the net effect of that has been (positive or negative).

One thing is for sure, the critical factor that sent those jobs over seas in the first place - inflation - is having a dampening effect on those advantages so my guess would be we are at a net loss. Now that we are in a downward spiral withi less capital to go around it will only exaggerate the problem.

 

And what impact from the Carbon Tax that gets rolling in july?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-eEeKodkPY[/youtube]

Julia the truthful. Say, did any one see four corners last night? Worth a look on the ABC website if you missed it.

Not that it matters at all which of the megalomaniacs is in power. Amanda Vanstone had a great article in The Age yesterday just on that topic too.

 

Two problems with that.

1 - Our dollar is going all guns. With the advent of the online shopping age, people with spare bucks are happy to send them overseas to get more bang for buck. Our own retail sector's attiude to customer service isn't helping the situation either.

2 - Our private debt balances are now some of the highest (if not THE highest) per capita in the entire world. We dumped so much of our cash into property over the last 10-15 years, many people are literally 'tapped out' on discretionary spending dollars either being forced to spend it on the mortgage or shitting themselves about what may happen and are trying to pay down / get out of debt as quick as possible.

IMHO, the whole system is pretty much stuffed. It's just a question of timining I think.